RURAL PPV – Fighting Fire With Air
Guest Column by Station Officer Shan Raffel (Brisbane, Australia) |
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Australia is the driest
continent in the world. Approximately 20 million people inhabit a vast
island continent covering an area of 7,682,300 square kilometres. To
put it in perspective, Australia is about the same size as the USA
mainland, or 24 times the size of the British Isles. Many of the native
tree species are highly combustible. Summer temperatures can hit 40 C
and hot dry winds can create some of the most dangerous firefighting
conditions in the world. The low population density also means that
there are less resources to deal with the massive land area. All of the
factors combine to make the role of firefighting in rural and semi rural
areas extremely difficult.
Fighting Fire with FireAs a result Australian Firefighters have had to use techniques that allow them to control these dangerous conditions with very limited resources. Back burning is been used to great advantage to create firebreaks and to protect property. Used in a tactical and skilful manner it can mean the difference between retreat and a successful attack Thinking outside the squareIn late 2000 Station Officer Jeff Van Croonenborg began experimenting with high powered backpack leaf blowers to "blow out" grass fires. The idea has proven to be a great success for brigades operating on the urban rural interface. Not only is the technique more efficient but it is less arduous. The blower is able to tackle any job that would normally be tackled with rakes and beaters in less time, with fewer staff and less effort. In the last two decades there has been number of advances in technology such as CAFS and class A foam that has greatly assisted rural firefighters to maximise their limited resources. Lightweight 4 X 4 vehicles are often used to transport firefighters and equipment to the fire front. Urban fire services are often called to fight bushfires on the urban fringe. Most often their appliances are not designed for rural firefighting and cannot be safely taken off road. Commonly they are forced to proceed on foot with whatever equipment they are able to carry. It is in these situations that the backpack blower becomes a valuable firefighting tool. Power to weight ratioWhile there have been numerous earlier attempts to gain acceptance for the use of blowers the limitations were in the velocity and output of the units. If insufficient air is supplied the units will simply fan the fire. The new generation top end units weigh less than 10 kg and are capable of delivering 612 CFM at a velocity of 200 MPH (Shindaiwa EB630). At 3.9 HP these units have the power to perform a number of tasks such as: 1. Clearing leaf litter from the ground to produce a mineral (bare earth) break. This can be used in the preparation of firebreaks before, during, or after controlled back burning. 2. Blowing out small ground fires. The units are capable of blowing out flames to approximately a height of 1 metre. 3. Holding or deflecting medium sized flames. In the range of 1 to 2 metres it is sometimes possible to push the flames away from risks. Rural PPV is not a substitute for hose reels, class A foam or CAFS. It is a tool that takes a lot of the manual labour out of rural fires that have to be fought in areas that are only accessible by foot. It is quick to get into action and at times the crew may decide to use the blower because of the ease and speed of operation, rather than running out hose reels. __________________________________________________________________ The opinions expressed in this paper are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. |